The Supreme Court decision on the landmark Roe v. Wade case legalized abortion in America on January 22, 1973. That year, the legal abortion rate was 16.3 abortions per 1,000 women in the U.S. Since then, the abortion rate has fluctuated to as high as 19.4 in 2008 and to the current all-time low of 14.6 based on most recent data from 2014. While the exact reasons why the U.S. Abortion Rate Dropped 25% in Six Years have not yet been established, Support Circle has identified a number of contributing factors evidenced by recent data including: Less Teen Intercourse, The Work of Pregnancy Centers, the Trend of Delayed Childbirth, and State Abortion Law Restrictions. The fifth factor is the rising popularity of the abortion pill. Ironically, the growing prominence of the abortion pill has led to a burgeoning black market online for its illegal sale. This black market artificially masks the true U.S. abortion rate, as only legally obtained abortions count in the statistic.

There are two categories of abortion: surgical and medical. Medical abortions are facilitated through the abortion pill. More women seeking first trimester abortions are opting for medical abortions. According to Reuters research, medical abortions accounted for 43% of terminations at Planned Parenthood clinics in 2014, up from 35% from 2010. Medical abortions were performed more than surgical abortions in Michigan (55%) and Iowa (64%), states with few abortion restrictions.

California is another state with few abortion restrictions and where Medi-Cal pays abortion costs. For some women throughout the country, obtaining any type of abortion may not be as easy. Because of the barriers they face (i.e. state restrictions, limited abortion providers, living in remote locations, lack of finances, etc.) oftentimes, women may turn to online providers for the abortion pill.

FDA Regulations

Women who are less than 10 weeks pregnant may have a choice between a surgical abortion (D&C) performed in a licensed medical clinic or hospital, or a medical abortion which can be completed at home or outside a medical facility. The abortion pill is a two-drug regimen consisting of Mifepristone and Mifeprex, that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA-approved abortion pill process stipulates an ultrasound to date the pregnancy and confirm that it is not an ectopic pregnancy, obtaining the abortion pill regimen through a prescription from a medical provider, and a follow-up visit 7-14 days later to ensure the contents of the uterus were safely expunged. The FDA has approved this process for the safety of women’s health.

Black Market Skirts These Regulations

Abortion pills obtained on the internet without a prescription are illegal and potentially dangerous. The allure is that they may be offered at a lower cost than local pharmacies and can be obtained in states with abortion laws restricting access to the abortion pill. Only legally obtained medical abortions are included in the official U.S. abortion rate, so, without regulation of online sales, it is difficult to gauge how much higher the abortion rate would be when taking into account black market abortion pills.

Disturbingly, black market abortion pills disregard the safety of women. Without regulation, the pills may not be exactly what the woman believes she ordered, ineffective, or cause adverse side effects. Abortion pills obtained online also bypass important safeguards including the ultrasound to verify and date the pregnancy as well as the follow-up visit to verify the contents of the uterus cleared completely.

Ultrasounds are important because the abortion pill does not work on ectopic pregnancies and the FDA has not approved the abortion pill for safe use after 10 weeks gestation. Support Circle provides ultrasounds at no cost to our clients to officially verify and date pregnancies.

Without any data on how many abortion pills are sold online to women in America, it is impossible to make an accurate accounting of how many total abortions are performed each year. This means the U.S. abortion rate is most likely higher than assumed based on 2014 findings. But how much higher, we can’t know. Regardless, the general consensus is that the abortion rate has declined due to several concurrent factors, and the masking effect of the abortion pill black market does not negate this overall decline.

https://supportcircle.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/abortion-pill-use-decline-in-abortion-rate.jpg447739Simone Frederickhttps://supportcircle.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/logo-color.pngSimone Frederick2018-01-21 06:10:162018-07-23 16:09:03Abortion Pill Use a Factor in Drop in U.S. Abortion Rate

Since the Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade in 1973, recognizing abortion as a woman’s constitutional right, thousands of laws have been brought before state and federal courts by each side of the abortion debate, either restricting abortions or permitting greater access to abortions. Restrictions vary from gestational limits, public and private insurance funding, provider refusal, counseling mandates, waiting periods, parental involvement, etc.

In recent years, there has been a steep increase in the number of abortion restrictions passed. A total of 231 new abortion restrictions were passed in the U.S. in the years 2011 to 2014. During this four-year period, state abortion restrictions were adopted at a faster rate than during the whole previous decade from 2001 to 2010 when a total of 189 restrictions were adopted.

The increase in state abortion restrictions does not appear to be slowing down. The Center for Reproductive Rights, which monitored over 2100 legislative proposals from 2010 to mid-2017, estimates that in 2016 alone, there were more than 500 abortion restrictions introduced by Republican state legislatures. Of those, 60 new restrictions passed in 19 states.

State abortion restrictions appear to have a clear correlation on the drop in the U.S. abortion rate. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported 652,639 legal abortions which is significantly less than the 730,322 legal abortions in 2011. This represents a faster four-year decrease in U.S. abortions than the previous decade from 2001 (853,485 abortions) to 2010 (765,651 abortions).

Although there has been a huge increase in state restrictions across the country, contributing to the drop in national abortion numbers, that is NOT the case here in California. California has not had as many abortion restrictions as other states. Interestingly, California’s abortion rate has not seen the same sharp decrease witnessed by the rest of the country, either. According to the Guttmacher Institute, which polls each abortion clinic in California every three years, California saw a slight decrease in 2014 with 157,350 legal abortions, from 181,730 legal abortions in 2011. During the previous decade from 2001 to 2010, California’s abortion rate ranged from 236,060 abortions in 2000 (closest year to 2001 data collected) to 191,550 abortions in 2010.

It will be interesting in the years ahead to see if there is a divergence between the California abortion rate and the overall U.S. abortion rate as California continues to experience all the other effects of the trends we have been talking about, including the work of pregnancy centers while abortion clinics are closing, less teen intercourse and delayed childbearing but NOT state restrictions. In fact, California has gone in the opposite direction of other states and passed laws to reduce restrictions on abortions.

There are multiple factors contributing to the decline in the U.S. abortion rate occurring concurrently. California is an instance where we can observe one factor in play while another is not. Going forward it will be interesting to see if the change in the California abortion rate has a noticeable difference compared to the other states since it has all the other factors in play but not the state abortion restrictions.

The U.S. abortion rate is now at an all-time historic low, due to a 25% drop in the last six years. At 14.6 abortions per 1,000, the abortion rate is lower than it was in 1973 when Roe v. Wade was passed (16.3 per 1,000 women), according to three independent surveys (two by the federal government and one by the Guttmacher Institute). This article is Part Two of a multi-part series exploring the factors behind this massive decline in the U.S. abortion rate.

In Part One of our series, we discussed the first factor behind the abortion rate decline: less teen intercourse. Rates of teen sexual intercourse are on the decline, reducing teen pregnancy rates and factoring into the lower rate of abortion. In this article, we explore Factors Two and Three: the work of pregnancy centers around the country, and also the trend of more women delaying childbearing.

The Work of Pregnancy Centers Nationwide

Thousands of pregnancy centers exist nationwide to help women who find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy. These centers are mostly operated independently, and thus share some similarities but also have many differences. As an independent organization, Support Circle can only speak to our ministry vision as a community that goes the distance with women and the services we provide. We do not speak for or represent other pregnancy centers, which each have unique visions and ministry approaches of their own. However, it is helpful to comment on the impact of pregnancy centers as a whole, as they provide support to women in unplanned pregnancies to varying degrees, and this has opened up options for many women that were not available to them and contributes to the overall drop in the abortion rate.

In 2016, Heartbeat International counted 2,573 total pregnancy center locations, including 1,145 that offer medical services such as ultrasounds and testing and/or treatment for sexually transmitted infections. The number of pregnancy centers is closer to 4,000 when including centers that are not registered with national affiliations like Heartbeat or Care Net and are independently operated such as those operated by local churches.

Pregnancy centers are predominantly privately funded. Care Net estimates its affiliates save tax payers over $56 million annually by offering free pregnancy tests, baby and maternal supplies and educational programs. This figure does not take into account the uncompensated volunteer hours. Since women in the U.S. primarily cite financial concerns as reasons for considering abortion, the provision of free medical services and material assistance helps to address those concerns.

Trend of Delayed Childbearing

A third factor behind the decline in the US abortion rate is the trend of delayed childbearing. The pregnancy rate for women over 40 is at an all-time high, confirming more women are choosing to delay childbearing. Career-focused women ages 25 – 45 reported that they are intentional about family planning and optimistic about delaying child bearing according to a new study by Yale University researchers. This is in spite of the known decline in fertility after age 30. Three-fourths of the career-focused women in the study cited pregnancy planning as being important. Of those, 90% were less concerned about fertility issues because they felt assisted reproductive technology (ART), including in-vitro fertilization (IVF), would give them a good chance of conceiving after age 30. ART rates confirm this trend. According to the CDC, the number of live-birth deliveries with the use of ART was almost one and half times higher in 2015 (59,348) than just nine years earlier in 2006 (41,343). The researchers found women who do not place as much importance on career success also place less importance on pregnancy planning. It can be deduced that with less intentional family planning, these women are more likely to face unintended pregnancies.

At Support Circle’s three licensed medical clinics and counseling centers in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are dedicated to providing time, space and support to women in unintended pregnancies. Women are offered a safe place to make an informed decision about their pregnancy. Registered nurses perform pregnancy tests and ultrasounds and can provide symptom relief, discuss the effect of existing health concerns, and nutrition. Our team of patient advocates provide informed non-judgmental emotional support and access to community resources before and after the pregnancy decision. Support Circle is unique in that we offer women emotional support for up to one year after her pregnancy decision, regardless of what that decision is. This opens space for a woman to address the root causes that were making her conflicted about her pregnancy in the first place, and work on issues that may be relevant such as domestic violence, anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

We offer an unpressured environment and honor women as decision makers. Our services are free of charge. These services are made possible by financial donations from local residents and other friends who believe that women should have a safe place to go that doesn’t profit from either outcome of their pregnancy decision.

The abortion rate in the U.S. has seen a 25% drop in the last six years. This is the first article in a multi-part series exploring the factors behind this massive drop. At 14.6 abortions per 1,000, the abortion rate is now lower than it was in 1973 when Roe v. Wade was passed (16.3 per 1,000 women), according to three independent surveys (two by the federal government and one by the Guttmacher Institute). Lower abortion rates are encouraging but what are the reasons for the decline?

While the exact reasons for the decrease in abortions has not yet been established, Support Circle has identified a number of contributing factors evidenced by recent data. One encouraging factor is that young people, consisting of teens and young Millennials (aged 20-24) are having less premarital intercourse which is resulting in lower pregnancy rates in this age group.

Teenagers and young Millennials report the lowest rates of premarital intercourse in decades. The reduction in intercourse has been attributed to the reduction in teen pregnancies, abortions and births. In fact, CDC data indicates that the portion of high school students in 2014 who have had sex fell to 41 percent from 54 percent in 1991.

According to the Guttmacher Institute and the Archives of Sexual Behavior journal by researchers from three U.S. universities, less young people are having sexual intercourse and more report having no sexual partner. This goes against the popular belief that young people are more sexually active due to dating apps and a hook up culture. Dating or “hook up” apps, such as Tinder, may actually be making it more difficult for young adults to engage in sexual activity because of the emphasis on physical appearance and physical perfection.

In a 2016 Washington Post article, a few experts noted concern that some young people are having difficulty “forming deep romantic connections… (and) cite other reasons for putting off sex, including pressure to succeed, social lives increasingly conducted on-screen… and wariness over date rape.” Another upside of “young people putting off sex and taking it slower could lead to better first marriages and slower divorce rates,” according to Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at Rutgers University in an interview with the Post.

In discussing reduced sexual intercourse, it is important to note that young people in the 60’s or 70’s were more likely to consider oral sex as sex. Whereas teens and Millennials find a distinction between oral sex and intercourse and are less likely to include oral sex when reporting on their sexual activity. This distinction might explain why rates of intercourse among young people is down but the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in their age group has increased.

Along with the decline in abortion rates and sexual intercourse, teen pregnancy rates have seen a steady decline. Teen pregnancy rates include pregnancies that end in abortion, miscarriage and live births. Data from the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey “shows sharp declines in sexual activity among high school students from 2013 to 2015.” The declining teen pregnancy rates have been attributed to less sexual intercourse, use of more effective contraception and teens receiving more information about pregnancy prevention.

Reality TV has been attributed to a reduction in teen pregnancies. A “2014 Brookings report found that MTV programs 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, reality TV shows that follow the struggles of teen mothers, may have contributed to up to a third of the decline in teen births from June 2009, when they began airing, through the end of 2010.” At the time, critics thought the shows would glorify teen pregnancy and result in an increase in teen pregnancies.

Less teen intercourse is only one of the many factors that are helping the abortion rate to decline. Stay tuned as we explore those other factors throughout this series. Support Circle is a licensed medical clinic dedicated to providing time, space and support to women in unintended pregnancies. We offer women a safe place to make an informed decision about their pregnancy. Our team of professional nurses and caring patient advocates listen and provide non-judgmental emotional support and access to community resources before and after the pregnancy decision. Clients love our relational approach built on respect, trust and confidentiality.

Our services include pregnancy testing and verification, ultrasounds, patient advocates, community referrals, health insurance information, symptom relief, nutrition and patient education. Support Circle provides pregnancy dating and information about pregnancy and abortion to aid clients in decision making. We do not perform or refer for any medical procedure or dispense medication for the final pregnancy decision, whether labor/delivery or abortion. Women may receive our services for up to one year after their decision, regardless of what her decision is. All services are offered at no cost to our clients.

Three independent studies (two by the federal government and one by the Guttmacher Institute) found that the number of abortions for women ages 15 to 44 dropped from 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women in 2008 to 14.6 in 2014. That means there are 1 in 4 less abortions in the United States! Furthermore, the overall abortion rate is LOWER than it was in 1973, when Roe v. Wade was decided and when the abortion rate was 16.3 per 1,000 women.

For the first time, the drop is representative of the greatest decline in the abortion rate among the poorest women in America. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the abortion rate of women earning at or below the poverty level decreased by 26% during the same time period. It is important to note that, at 36.6 abortions per 1,000 women, the low-income group still represent the highest proportion of American women obtaining abortions.

Thorough data on the reasons for the decline in the abortion rate is not yet available. However, in the coming weeks, we will be featuring factors we believe to be causing this decline.

5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Medical Clinics for Unplanned Pregnancies

All of Support Circle’s services are provided free of charge to our clients thanks to the generous donations of our supporters. So why should supporters invest in medical clinics for unplanned pregnancies?

Reason #1: Half of Pregnancies are Unplanned

Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. Half! That’s a lot of women that did not intend to get pregnant or did not intend to get pregnant at this time. While we all know a woman or man that has or will face an unintended pregnancy, we are not all equipped to provide the tangible assistance needed. To meet the demand for pregnancy clinics, Support Circle has three state licensed Bay Area medical clinics where registered nurses and professional counselors can provide a safe place, at no cost to her, to discuss an unexpected pregnancy and to work through issues that may be causing emotional pain.

Reason #2: Underlying Issues

One in four women in an unintended pregnancy is unsure of what to do. The reason they are unsure is that they are conflicted and the source of the conflict comes from underlying issues which include financial fears, the relationship with the father, feeling a lack of support, and worries concerning career, school and health. Support Circle provides the rare environment that enables a woman to address underlying issues like these. Our professional counselors facilitate an ongoing counseling relationship for up to one year after her decision so she can address underlying issues.

Reason #3: A Safe Place

Women need a safe place that does not pressure them. Everyone around her has really strong opinions about what she should do. Many times, those strong opinions turn into pressure. But she has to live with her decision so shouldn’t she be well-informed about it and not coerced? Women need a third-party place that has their best interest in mind as a person, enabling her to sort through her feelings and provide nonjudgmental support while she works through her most pressing needs and reconnects with her core values. Support Circle provides a trained, ethnically diverse team of professional counselors who offer nonjudgmental support and assistance with community resources. The atmosphere in our clinics is always relaxing and calm. We do not profit directly from the outcome of her pregnancy decision.

Reason #4: Our Laws Are Not Enough

Our laws simply fall short in this social area. What makes this issue so difficult is that it deals with pregnancy which is a very unique life stage, unlike anything else. It is unique in that you have a woman and a fetus that are intertwined. The debate rages over whether it is one person who needs to be able to exercise autonomy over her body, or whether it is a woman and a baby who are two distinct beings with rights. Our laws fall short because pregnancy cannot be neatly and easily categorized as one or the other, and people fight over that categorization. Support Circle values both the woman and the baby and what we need are not just laws. What we need is a proactive place in society where women can come and sort through all of their issues while they are making their pregnancy decision and have their top needs addressed. That’s what is missing and that is what Support Circle provides.

Reason #5: Finances

Financial worries dominate the minds of women and men facing unexpected pregnancies. It is their number one fear. Financial lack and fear of it can cause all of the people involved to be pitted against each other. This is a great tragedy for society. By investing in a medical clinic that addresses these issues, you help to create an environment where they are not pitted against each other. And Support Circle counselors can facilitate community resources that might not be known otherwise, as well as key relationships that can change the financial equation drastically for clients.

Your support of Support Circle’s pregnancy clinics provides women, men and children facing unplanned pregnancies with the immediate assistance they need. It is a compassionate response to a daily tragedy in our society. Thank you for making the women, men and children we serve a priority in your life!

“I would like to thank all the people that supported us because if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know if I would be here right now. All the help that I got made a difference, a huge difference. I was alone and I found a lot of help.” – Serena

Thank you for helping our client, Serena. After four pregnancy tests taken at home, Serena and Brian finally came to Support Circle and her pregnancy was confirmed by a registered nurse. With the help of our patient advocates, the underlying issues that caused her denial and great stress was addressed.

At Support Circle, we offer first line care to women facing unplanned pregnancies. We hear their stories and are committed to helping with emotional and medical support. With face-to-face professional services and access to community resources, women and men are encouraged to grapple with life’s adversity and take steps out of it. No judgment, just compassionate service.

Please join us in providing profound support to women and men at our three licensed Bay Area medical offices.

Help us raise $240,000 by September 30 and your gifts will be DOUBLED by a few of our benevolent friends. Your generosity is a significant blessing to our clients.

https://supportcircle.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IMG_0296.jpg428640Simone Frederickhttps://supportcircle.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/logo-color.pngSimone Frederick2016-09-15 14:41:342018-07-23 16:28:49I was alone and found help

While tensions pump through our airwaves, isn’t it nice to know a place that runs on respect and treats people with dignity? The atmosphere across America is tense right now over racial tensions, gun control, terrorism, and immigration. Pregnancy is in the spotlight too with the Zika virus health concerns. And, with the presidential election always comes renewed activity regarding abortion laws. But in the midst of all this, Support Circle is a safe place for women and men facing an unplanned pregnancy, where they can focus on their thoughts, on their feelings, and on overcoming the challenges in their lives. Isn’t a safe and civil place refreshing when we’ve become so accustomed to the media’s endless diet of fear and acrimony?

We are profoundly changing lives together. Deferentially providing women with a safe and civil place so they can address their underlying issues is quietly enabling life transformation! You can see it in the faces of Serena, Brian and Emma in these beautiful photos.

She Matters. And He Does Too. These have been rallying cries at Support Circle. Women and men who are conflicted about their unplanned pregnancies need real help and support. They don’t need vitriol. Women need immediate and accurate medical information. They want to be able to sit down and sort through their thoughts and emotions. And they need to lay out their concerns and develop a plan. In America, there are too many arm chair commentators, but how many players are actually on the field, providing direct services and helping women? How many of those people profit from her decision? At Support Circle, we bypass the political fighting, social media trolls, and naysayers by helping women and men face-to-face in our medical clinics.

One particular client, “Lily,” who was in an abusive relationship comes to mind. At Support Circle, Lily received immediate practical assistance in several areas such as food and transportation. Her Support Circle counselor provided Lily the resources to develop a safety plan and self refer to a domestic violence shelter. While internet trolls were busy flaming each other online, our counselor drove Lily and her daughter to the shelter, which was in another county for their safety. Lily had only a car seat, a stroller, and one bag. The counselor knew the shelter would be able to move Lily and her daughter to a safe house, which was priority number one. And she knew that Lily would be connected to other essential resources through the shelter to deal with the emergency such as legal services. The Support Circle counselor gave Lily a phone card so that she could add money to her cell phone and stay in communication with each other. After her immediate safety was secured, Lily resumed counseling sessions at Support Circle. Through these actions, our counselor was embodying Support Circle’s three powerful and unique care promises:

Time, space and support.

Emotional support for the coming year no matter what you choose.

A safe and civil place.

We honor women as decision-makers and do not pressure or manipulate clients. We do not perform or refer for abortion. Our way of operating honors the inherent dignity of all women, men and children. We provide the face-to-face professional services and access to community resources that enable women and men to grapple with their life adversity and take steps of ownership to rise out of it.

Thank you for making a difference in real lives and real families! Our clients are facing hurdles that need to be addressed in a caring, loving and supportive environment. They are not statistics or nameless, faceless numbers. They are real people with real problems and real concerns. In addition to dealing with unintended pregnancies, our clients may also need help addressing things like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trauma, domestic violence and may need information on how pregnancy might affect existing health conditions. They come to us because they are pregnant or think they may be pregnant but, many times, they stay with us after their decision because they need help addressing the underlying issues they face.

Support Circle is unique in that we provide counseling for the male partner as well. According to a recent Public Opinion Strategies poll, the unique and central factor for a woman undecided about an unplanned pregnancy is the relationship with the father of the baby. By including her male partner in the counseling process, we are better able to help her address her underlying issues and help them to communicate better. Over 70% of the men have been actively involved in the counseling process with our clients! What a breathtaking statistic that shatters stereotypes. Brian and Serena, featured in the photos of this letter, greatly benefited from counseling at Support Circle, and we are excited to share more of their story in our
upcoming communications.

We are aware of the tension-charged climate in America and the San Francisco Bay Area. Instead of fueling those tensions, we prefer our on the field approach. We want to continue to provide the practical, first line help women and men facing unintended pregnancies need; services such as no cost pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, pregnancy verifications, consultations with a registered nurse, and professional counseling.

Please fund these services which are quietly enabling life transformation. We need to raise a minimum of $240,000 by the end of September to provide these services. I’m delighted to tell you that our matching campaign is live and doubles all gifts until September 30!So far we have over $125,000 in matching funds committed by a group of supporters who want to encourage many new and existing supporters to joyfully and strongly fund Support Circle’s work. Will you help us with a gift today, which will be doubled through the match? Your gifts will be a profound blessing to our clients.

https://supportcircle.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/FullSizeRender-17.jpg11412300Simone Frederickhttps://supportcircle.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/logo-color.pngSimone Frederick2016-08-17 01:48:572016-10-18 19:40:00Support in the Field

Meet a Supporter: Lily Arbulich

Support Circle interviewed Lily Arbulich to learn more about her and why she supports the organization.

SC: What a great-looking couple! How long have you been married?

Lily: Thanks. You’re very kind. John and I have been married for 42 years as of this August. We have two sons, ages 36 and 34.

SC: How did you and John meet?

Lily: We met 45 years ago at a Baskin Robbins counter. John was buying his favorite ice cream. Baseball Nut. I was only 14-1/2 years old. We were both attending my church’s young people’s outing.

SC: What is your favorite flavor of ice cream, Lily?

Lily: Almond Fudge.

SC: What do you and John do for fun?

Lily: We enjoy taking a ride to Santa Cruz, Napa and other wine country locations on a beautiful sunny day with the top down to visit wineries. We love to travel to John’s native homeland, Croatia, where Mom and many relatives still live.

John and Lily

SC: Would you like to share your occupations with our readers?

Lily: For the past 15 years, I have been a caregiver for the elderly and families in need. For the past 35 years, John has been responsible for the engineers at his work in various companies in Silicon Valley.

SC: How long have you been supporters of Support Circle?

Lily: Hmmm… At least 10 plus years.

SC: What drew you to Support Circle?

Lily: We were drawn to Support Circle because it is a safe haven for women who are confused, frightened and unsure of what to do if they find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy. At Support Circle, women will receive grace, kindness and sincere concern for their present state from counselors, nurses and staff that will stand beside them and support them throughout their decision-making. We highly recommend giving your donation to Support Circle.

A safe, civil place in the midst of fear

Dear Supporters,

So much talk in the media is driven by fear. Many of our clients, before meeting us, are driven by fear. She fears judgment, the future of her relationship, how her family and friends will react. She has financial fear, fear about keeping her job, fear about not being able to finish school. She has fear about where she will live, fear about the unknown. Her fears are as unique as she is.

Support Circle offers tangible help by providing a safe, civil place where she can come to address her most pressing needs and fears when facing an unplanned pregnancy. A place where people are not jumping all over her, demanding that she make one decision or another. But rather, a place that gives her deference so she can sort out her own thoughts and feelings to make a well-informed choice that she can own. Your financial support helps Support Circle provide a safe, civil place for her.

The Client Process at Support Circle provides enough structure that she experiences a non-pressured environment but also provides enough flexibility to address her specific needs. Her well-being is the priority during her appointments. Our friendly and professional staff at Support Circle’s three licensed medical clinics provide clients with a genuine opportunity to receive critical medical information and process their thoughts and feelings. And our counseling staff provides long-term, relational support for the coming year.

You can provide the strong, civil voice that’s needed: Women and men facing the fear of an unplanned pregnancy need a strong, civil voice. They don’t need more voices from society that are motivated by fear.

You can help provide that strong, civil voice today through Support Circle. I have made it the top priority in this organization to strengthen our voice and outreach, beginning first online, and then secondly in the community. This spring we will not be holding our annual Benefit Dinner to enable our team to continue building our online presence and outreach. We look forward to 2017 when our premiere fundraising event will return. In the meantime, we still need your financial support without attending the physical event. We launched our spring fundraising efforts with the “Support the Circle” campaign. Your contributions complete the circle of supportive services around our clients, and provide the resources needed to bring a strong, civil voice to women and men facing the fear of unplanned pregnancy.

Would you give generously to this campaign so that together we can be that strong voice? We are encouraging our regular banquet guests to give online and via mail what they would have given at the annual event. Please “Support the Circle” today, and your contributions will go towards direct services in our medical clinics and our outreach efforts!

Together we can replace fear with support, which leads to hope and lasting change!